Woman arrested as suspect in El Segundo arson fires

A 63-year-old woman described as being under a lot of stress was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of lighting seven fires in El Segundo, police said.

Barbara Nania was taken to jail about 7:15 a.m. when a police officer saw her driving in the city and recognized that she matched the description of a woman caught on video starting a fire behind a nail salon.

El Segundo police Lt. Jaime Bermudez said officers booked her into the city’s jail on suspicion of arson. She was held on $350,000 bail.

Bermudez declined to disclose any of the statements Nania made to investigators during questioning.

“We do have our suspect,” Bermudez said. “I don’t anticipate any more fires.”

Investigators on Monday released information about six fires that have occurred since Aug. 20 in city alleys and at two churches. A surveillance camera recorded a dark-haired woman smoking a cigarette and setting patio furniture ablaze Sunday.

Police released the video Monday afternoon. Firefighters then said they believe a seventh earlier fire might be connected, Bermudez said.

Detectives received tips identifying Nania as a suspect, but a police officer spotted her driving in the 400 block of Main Street on Monday morning and pulled her over, Bermudez said.

Police declined to discuss a motive behind the fires, but Bermudez said Nania had “incidents in her life adding stress.”

“We’re just shocked there is no previous arson history with her,” Bermudez said. “We don’t know what triggered it.”

Los Angeles County Superior Court records show Nania was charged with misdemeanor counts of burglary and shoplifting in October 2007. She was convicted of the shoplifting charge.

The records also show she was involved in several civil court cases, including a divorce in 2009.

Nania’s mother, Claire Nania, said her daughter was on her way to morning Mass at American Martyrs Church in Manhattan Beach when the officer stopped her. The mother, and the suspect’s brother, Joseph Nania, had not seen the video when contacted by a reporter Tuesday afternoon and denied she had committed arson.

They acknowledged her arrest, but said police had no proof she had committed seven fires.

“This is a wrong angle,” the mother said.

After viewing the video on the Internet, the mother acknowledged the woman in the recording setting the fire “resembles my daughter.”

Advertisement

“I can’t say positively,” the mother said. “I don’t see what she would be doing back there. I can’t find any justifiable reason why she would be doing that.”

Nania’s mother said her daughter was “under a lot of stress” that has increased since she went to jail.

“She’s having trouble with her heart. She’s so upset,” the mother said.